Shoe-heel-setting device



April 29, 1930. w. A. THUM sHoE HEEL'SETTING DEvIE Filed Jan. 50, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l Z5/v VEN-rp in 7 0 Hw WH MY W. A. THuM 1,756,708

SHOE HEEL SETTING DEVICE April 29, 1930.

2 sheets-swaml 2 Filed Jan 50, 1928 Patented Apr. 29, '1930 1,756,708

Niin STATES WALTER A. THUM, or sr. IiouIs, ivIIssoUEI l sHoE-IIEEIi-snfrrine DEVICE Appiicanon fried January saisies. seriai No. 250,467.

This invention relates to a certain new and eiiicient in the performance of its intended useful improvement in shoe-machinery and functions. has particular reference to a tool or device I accomplish all such objects by the provifor setting the heels during the hardening of sion of a clamping means for lirmly and the adhesive usually employed in binding the tightly pressing the heel to the shoe (the last 55 Wood heel to the shoe. being in the shoe) and then securely holding In the manufacture of a boot or shoe, a the parts together by means of aheel-set comlast is provided over which the shoe is built. prising a shackle associated with a latch, the The heel is then mounted on the shoe with lheel-set being relatively small in dimension suitable adhesive, and the finishing operafor convenient handling` when passing 60 tions are then applied. The heel is today set through the machines employed in completon the shoe by means of a clamp of such coning the manufacture of the shoe. struction that, so far as I am aware, it is And with the above and other objects in necessary that the heel and shoe with the last view, my invention resides in the novel feain it remain in theclamp until the adhesive tures of form, construction, combination, and 65 has hardened, whereupon the clamp may be arrangement of parts hereinafter described removed. As at present employed, these and pointed out in the claims. clamps prevent any further operations on the ln the accompanying drawings, shoe so long as they remain thereon, as they Figure l is a view, partly in side elevation are too large and heavy to handle in passing and partly in section, of a heel-set and clamp- 70 through the machines used in the finishing of ingl means of my invention; i the shoe. Hence operations on the shoe must Figure 2 is an end view of the parts illusbe suspended for a certain time and until the trated in Figure l, as seen by the operator adhesive has hardened, thus tying up a conof the machine, showing in connection theresiderable amount of capital in partially comwith a shoe with its last and heel firmly 75 plcted shoes and greatly increasing the time pressed together and securely held by the factor required in the manufacture of a shoe. heel-set;

My invention has hence for one of its ob- Figure 2 is an enlarged detail section taken jects the provision of means whereby the heel approximately on the line Qa-Qa, Figure l; may be set on the shoe while the adhesive is Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view S0 hardening, and yet at the same time permit ltaken approximately along the line 3&3, Figthe shoe to be passed successively through the ure l;

operations of trimming and burnishing the Figure L is a detail side vieu7 of the heel-set sole and the other subsequent operations shown in Figure l;

I without removing the last from the shoe and Figure 5 is a detail end view of the heel-set 85 without interfering with or retarding the of Figure 4i;

passage of the shoe through the machines as- Figure 6 is an enlarged front elevational sociated with such subsequent operations. view of a modified form of heel-set, embody- By such means, I expedite the manufacture ing my invention;

40 of the shoe, lessen the production timel re- Figure 7 is an end` view of the heel-set of vau quired per shoe, and avoid tying up capital in Figure 6; and y partially finished shoes pending the harden- Figure 8 is a sectional view taken approxiing of the adhesive, all of which objects are mately along the line 8 8, Figure 6, now unattainable inthe present state of the Referring now more in detail and by ref- 't5 art, so far as l am aware. ereiice characters to the drawings, my new e5 My invention has for a further object the heel-set comprises a shackle A which includes provision of means of the type and for the an inverted substantially U-shaped member purposes stated which may be inexpensively l() of suitable dimensions for accommodating and economically manufactured, durable and or embracing the usual boot or shoe B, as 5 sturdy in structure, conveniently usable, and shown in Figure 2. Preferably, the mem- 15C ber has the shape in elevation best seen in Figure 4; however, for accommodating a greater variation in height of heels, this member, as at 10a, may have the modified form and contour in side and end elevation as seen in Figures 6 and 7. I may here state that otherwise than in shape or form, the member 10a and its associate parts arepsimilar in function and operation to the preferred form of such member 10 and its associate parts illustrated in theremaining figures of the drawing, and hence a description of one will equally apply to the other.

Disposed transversely of member 10, is a cross-member or plate 11 provided atits opposite ends with enlargements 11il suitably bored to fit the legs of member 10, whereby the member or plate 11 is disposed for slidable movement relatively to the member 10. Upon their opposed inner faces, the plate enlargements 11et are suitably slotted, as at 11b, to accommodate, and permit impinging engagement with the legs of members 10 by, the opposed outer ends of aligning latch-mem- 'bers 12 mounted flatwise for slidable move- Thus, when the wedge-element 15 is screwedV into the plate 11, the latch-plates 12 will be oppositely moved or shifted outwardly so as to impingingly engage the respective legs of the member 10 and thereby rigidly secure the members 10 and 11 together. Preferably, the free ends of the legs of the member 10 are provided with shoulders 16 to preventY the plate 11 and its associate parts sliding off the member 10 on disengagement therewith of the latch-members 12.

The shoe assembly comprisesa last 19 inserted in the shoe B, upon which latter a heel 20 is mounted and adapted for securement by suitable adhesive. As is usual, the last 19 is provided upon its upper face and at its heel portion with a recess 21 and adjacent its toe portion with a projecting portion or shank 22. Preferably, the plate or member 11 of the heel-set is provided upon its upper face with a last-engaging pad 23, preferably corrugated or roughened upon its upper face to prevent twisting while the operations are being performed on the shoe.

As more fully later appearing, my heel-set may be employed with any suitable form of clamping machine. Preferably, however, I prefer to employ a form of construction as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, wherein Ishow a clamping element or frame C comprising a bed-plate 24 rigidly supported by suitable J. als

Y relatively to an inverted cup fixed in the leg 26a of the member 26. Abutting at its head 31 against the outer face of the end-wall of cup 30 and threaded at its lower end into the block 27, is a follower 32, and coiled about the follower 32 and abutting at one end against the block 27 and its other end against' the inner` face of the end-wall of cup 30, is a coil-spring 33 for yieldingly exerting constant downward tension or pressure upon the block 27.

Mounted for reciprocal movement upon the bed-plate 24 and disposed in approximate vertical alignment with the drop-head D, is a clamp-head E adapted for actuation by any suitable means, such as, for instance, an air-piston or the like. ln the embodivment here shown, however, the clamp-head E is manually operable by means of a footl-evcr 34 pivoted, as at 35, to a rigid bracket 36 fixed to a bed-plate or other support 37 and operatively connected by means o f a preferably lengthwise adjustable link 38 to a rack 39 disposed vertically for slidable movement in a housing 40 conjoined or otherwise fixed to and upon the under side of the bed-plate 24, Preferably the rack 39 is in the form ofk a cylindrical member, held from turning movement by means of a set screw 41 seated inthe housing 40 and engaging at its inner end in a slot 42 longitudinally provided and properly positioned in the rack 39. The rack 39 operatively engages a gear 43 journalled for rotation in the housing 40 and, in turn, having meshing'engagement with a second vertically disposed rack 44 conjoined to or otherwise formingpart of the clamp-head E Preferably the rack 44 is also of cylindrical formation and is likewise held from turning movement by means of a second set screw 45 seated in the housing 40 and engaging at its inner end in a slot 46 longitudinally provided in the rack 44, all as best seen in Figure 1. At its lower or free end, rack 44 is provided with a collar or abutment 47, and interposed on the rack 44 and abutting at one end'against the collar 47 and at its other end against the under face of the housing 40, is a coil spring 48 for yieldingly retaining the clamp-head E in, and returning the same to, normal lowered position. Y

As best seen in Figure 1, the rack 44 pro- 28, for accommojects upwardly through the bed-plate 24, and this form of shackle being` cheaper to manuconjoined to or otherwise fixed upon the proy-r jecting upper end of the rack 44, is a member 49 which is generally of cup-shape formation, as shown, the member 49 comprising diametrically opposite vertically disposed channels or ways 50, disposed in each of which is a coiled or buffer spring 5l, disposed, in turn, upon which are ejector plungers 52. Arranged intermediate the channels 50 and adapted for registering with the wedge-member l5 of the shackle A when the latter is disposed upon the head E with the end-lugs of the member engaging the plungers 52, is a wedge-operator comprising a springsethandle-socket ratchet-wrench 53 having its shank 54 journalled in a bridge-piece 55 of the member 49, as clearly seen in Figure l. In the embodiment here shown, the wedgeelement of shackle A is provided with a hexagonal head 15a, which is adapted to be seated in the shank-head 54a of the wedgeoperator F, the head r54cnL having a recess formation complementary to the head l5a of the wedge element l5, but it will be understood that any other form of wedge operator may be employed, such as an ordinary open ended hand wrench, motor, or the like. Coiled on the wrench-shank 54 and abutting at one end against the end wall of member 49 ment l5, so that the operator may convenienty ly actuate and lock the heel-set after the operation of clamping has been performed.

At a suitable location on'the shackle-meinber ll for last-engagement, is a pin 58 adapted to engagingly fit the aperture 2l in the last 19 to hold the shoe B in proper operating position; and preferably also the head E is provided with an outwardly presented bracket 59 adapted for engaging the lastshank 22 to serve as a support and a guide for the shoe B and its contained last during heelsetting operations.

Thus, it will be seen that I provide a pressing machine for clamping the heel on the shoe, the last being inserted and disposed within the shoe, and a heel-set or holding device for securely holding the parts in proper position during the hardening and setting of the adhesive. As I have before stated, the heel-set may have its member l() constructed and formed in any convenient shape in order facture and also having a wider range of usefulness in working with different sizes and makes of shoes and shoe heels.

In use and operation, we will assume first that the member 11 is free to slidably move upon the member l0 and is disposed loosely upon the shoulders 16 at the free ends of the shackle-member 10. The heel-set A is mounted in the clamping machine by inserting the bight l0b of the shackle-member l0 in the groove 28 of block 27 of' head D, the head D being then pushed upwardly yieldingly against the tension of spring 33 so as to permit the ends of the shackle-member l0 to be .vf

inserted into the channels and upon the ejector-plungers 52.0f the head E. As so disposed, the enlargements l1a of plate ll rest upon the shouldered upper end of the cup 49 with the head 15a of the wedge-element 15 seated in the recessed head 54EL of the wedge operator F. Thus the heel-set is supported and held firmly between the spring seated plungers 52 and the head D. rlhe shoe assembly comprising the last 19, the shoe B mounted on the last, and the heel 2O mounted on the shoe with a suitable interposed adhesive, are now inverted and disposed heelwise within the confines of the shackle member 10 and engaged by the'pin 58 and supported and guided by the bracket 59.

The parts being in the position described, the operator depresses the foot lever 34, thereby, through the racks and gearing described, causing the clamp-head E to move upwardly. In such upward movement of the clamp-head E, the shackle A and the inserted shoe B are shifted upwardly until the' block 27 of head D yieldingly abuts against the leg 26a`of the member 26, as seen in Figure `2. As the lever 34 is further depressed and head E continued to be shifted upwardly, the crossmember or plate vl1 of the shackle A will now be shifted upwardly and the shoe-assembly tightly compressed between the member l1 and the bight 10b of the shackle A, the member 11 at its pad 23 engaging the outer, and now downwardly presented, face of the last 19 `and the shoe-heel 20 engaging at its outer lift firmly against the bight l0b of the shacklemember 10. rIhe wedge operator F is now actuated to shift ythe latch-members l2 into engagement with the legs of the member l0, whereby the shoe-assembly and shackle A are securely and firmly held together. On pressurev upon the lever 34 being removed, the head E yieldingly moves downwardly to normal position under the tension of spring 48, when the shoe-assembly and shackle A may as a unit be removed from the machine l and as a unit conveniently handled and passed through the subsequent or finishing shoe operations. In removing the shoe-assembly, the same is simply lifted up so as to disengage the legs of the shackle-member 10 from the clamping-head E and the last 19 from the bracket 59, whereupon the whole may be withdrawn from the machine and another heel-set inserted therein, and the operations as described again performed. It will be readily seen' that the heel-set may be applied to the shoe-assembly in a very short time, and that the heel-set, when applied to the shoe-assembly, takes up very little room and interposes no obstructions that whould prevent the passage of the shoe through the finishing machines.l l may add that, in disengaging the heel-set from the shoe, the screw-member 15 isr suitably loosened, when the latch-members l2 may be easily shifted out of impinging engagement with member l0, and plate ll then shifted downwardly, permitting` ready removal of the shoe.

lhile l have herein described a certain specific method of constructing and assembling the elements of my invention, it is to be understood that changes in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of my new heel-set and clamping machine may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A heel-set including anrapproximately U-shaped body-member adapted to embrace the shoe-assembly, in combination with a second member shiftable relatively to the bodymember for co-operative engagement with the shoe-assembly, and means adapted for, engagement with the legs of the body-member forr retaining the second member in shifted position in setting the heel to the shoe.

2. A heel-set including an approximately U-shaped body-member adapted to embrace the shoe-assembly, in combination with a plate disposed transversely, and having engagement for shiftable movement with the legs, of the body-member, said plate being shiftable relatively to the body-member for engagement with the shoe assembly, and means carried by said plate adapted for engagement with the legs of the body-member for retaining the plate in shifted position in setting the heel to the shoe.

3. A heel-set including an approximately U-shaped body-member adapted to embrace the shoe-assembly, in combination with a plate disposed transversely,` and having engagement for shiftable movement with the legs, of the body-member, said platebeing shiftable relatively to the body-member for engagement with the 'shoe-assembly, and means including opposed latch-members carried by the plate for engagement with the legs of the body-member for retaining the plate in shifted position in setting the heel to the shoe. v

4. A heel-set including an approximately U-shaped body-member adapted to embrace the shoe-assembly, in combination with a plate disposed transversely, and having enincluding a pair of opposed latch-members` disposed in relation to the plate for shiftable movement, and a wedge-member having engagement with the plate for shifting the latch-members to engage the legs of the bodymember.

5. A heel-set including an approximately U-shaped body-member adapted to embrace the shoe-assembly, in combination with a plate disposed transversely of the body-inember for co-operativeV engagement with the shoe-assembly, apertured enlargements on the plate fitting for plate-shifting movement on the legs of the body-member, said enlargements being transversely slotted, and means for retaining the plate in shifted position in setting the heel to the shoe, said means including a pair of opposed latch-members disposed in relation to the plate for shiftable movement and fitting at their outer end in the slots of said enlargements, and a wedge-member having threaded engagement with the plate and adapted for actuating engagement with said latch-members at their inner end to shift the latch-members to impingingly engage at their outer end with the legs of the body-member.

6. In combination with a heel-set including a shackle lcomprising a first4 member adapted t0 embrace the shoe-assembly and a second member shiftable upon the body-member for co-operative engagement with the slice-assembly, of means for yieldingly shifting'the second member into engagement with the shoe-assembly.

7. In combination with a heel-set including a shackle comprising a first member adapted to embrace the shoe-assembly and la second member shiftable upon the bodymember for co-operative engagement with the shoe-assembly, of a block adapted for engagement with one end of the first member, a movable clamp-head for accommodating the opposite end of the iirst member in op posed relation to the block, the head being llt) adapted for engagement with said second member, and means for actuating the head to shift said second member into engagement with the shoe-assembly.

8. In combination with a heel-set including a shackle comprising a U-shaped member adapted to embrace the shoe-assembly f and a plate transversely disposed to said member and fitting upon the legs thereof for shiftable movement for co-operative engagement with the shoe-assemb1y, of a block adapted for engagement With the bight of the U-shaped member, a movable clamp-head channeled to receive and accommodate the legs of the U-shaped member and adapted to engage said plate, and means for actuating the head to shift said plate into engagem ment With the shoe-assembly.

9. In combination with a heel-set including a shackle comprising a U-shaped member adapted to embrace the shoe-assembly, a plate transversely disposed to said member and fitting upon the legs thereof for shiftable movement for co-operative engagement With the shoe-assembly, and means including a Wedge-member carried by the plate for retaining the same in shifted position in engagement With the shoe-assembly, of a block adapted for engagement with the bight of the U-shaped member, a movable clamp-head channeled to receive and accommodate the legs of the U-shaped member and adapted to engage the plate, means for actuating the clamp-head to shift the plate into engage-Y ment With the shoe-assembly, and means including a Wrench-member carried by the clamp-head adapted for actuating engagement with said Wedge-member.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WALTER A. THUM. 

